Madagascar's Midongy du Sud:
The green oasis of the deep south
About 90 km southeast of Vangaindrano in the South of Madagascar lies the Midongy du Sud National Park, also called Midongy-Befotaka. The area has been protected since 1953, but only acquired the status of a national park in 1997. The Midongy National Park has an area of 1920 km² and is divided into two main areas divided: the Soarano and the Befotaka forest. The unique landscape of this national park is permeated by extremes: Steep mountains and deep valleys covered by a lush humid rainforest, swamps and rivers in the lowlands. Surprisingly, here is found one of the most wettest regions of Madagascar. It rains almost every day. Because of these climatic conditions and its rugged orography, Midongy du Sud is named after Masoala the second largest contiguous rainforest of the island. The altitude varies between 700 and 1680m at the highest point, Mount Papango. The climate is extremely humid throughout the year and the temperatures are rather cool compared to other areas of the island: the annual average is 18 °C. The main ethnic groups that live here is the people of the Bara and that of the Antaisaka.
We offer the possibility to include this hard to reach national park in one of the following tours: The splendor of the slopes terra incognita and Splendor of the slopes - east coast and south
The unknown national park of the south
Since the park is very difficult to access due to the many rainfalls and the often steep terrain, large parts of the national park are unexplored until today. Future scientific expeditions will show how diverse the flora and fauna of the area actually are. However, the endemic rate of known mammals, birds and reptiles living here is already absolutely remarkable. Due to the constant rainfall, quite small and totally harmless leeches are quite common in Midongy du Sud. Also, a significant number of rare tree species grow in these dense forests, including precious woods such as ebony or rosewood and at least 15 endangered species of orchids.
The Midongy du Sud National Park - little developed for tourism
Apart from the unpleasant weather, the difficult access makes Midongy a tourist destination only for adventurous travelers and intrepid nature lovers comes into question. Since Midongy du Sud National Park is not a typical tourist destination, it also lacks the appropriate infrastructure. The park is only accessible from June to the end of November via poor dirt roads. Public transportation does not exist in this remote area. Without a appropriately powerful off-road vehicle, you should not take the arduous journey. Cheap Car Rental are however in large parts of Madagascar also for tourists to find. From Vangaindrano the road is in very bad condition for 100km. Another 100km of bad road conditions follow until the city Midongy Atsimo. There are also no established tours of the rainforest and no accommodations within the park. In Midongy there is nevertheless a small park officewhere you can arrange a guided tour of this unexplored region of Madagascar. Camping is possible with your own equipment. Also, you can most likely find accommodation with the local inhabitants near the park boundaries. After all, in the towns of Midongy or Befotaka there are some "hotels" according to the local understanding of the word. Outside the park there are some attractions that you should not miss during a visit. Absolutely recommended is the Kotavo cave in Befotaka (40 km south of Midongy Atsimo) and also the Hot water spring in Telorano or the natural pool in Andranolaly are worthwhile destinations on your journey through Madagascar's south.
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Villa Sibylle Antananarivo (Madagascar)
